Q: What is the "trust/partnership relationship" concept as utilized in managing the land-grant program in Micronesia?

A: It is the name given to the unique and special relationship between the College of Micronesia (COM) and each of the three colleges in Micronesia (PCC, CMI, and COM-FSM) as spelled out in an MOU between COM and each college.

The "trust/partnership" relationship agreement thru a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) enables COM to delegate its some of its roles and responsibility in land-grant program administration to the local colleges based on trust and in the spirit of partnership and cooperation.

The MOU spells out various administrative issues dealing with personnel, funding, budgets, reports, etc. (If you want to see a copy of the MOU, let the college president know.)

Under the relationship, COM has been and will continue to be down-sized, on one hand, and on the other hand, the land-grant programs at each campus are being expanded.

Each college is responsible to develop programs and implement them. It is responsible to hire and evaluate staff. It is responsible to expend and obligate land-grant funds that are allocated to each college. It is a custodian of land-grant properties at each nation.  However, the ultimate responsibility in the overall handling of the land-grant funding the programs in Micronesia remains with the COM.

What is the COM "land-grant status" and what is the situation with the College of Micronesia post-Trust Territory government period?

Land-grant was first established by the US Congress in 1862. The US federal government provided federal land for each US state to sell and use proceeds to establish a college teaching agriculture, mechanical arts, home economics, etc. In the US, there are land-grant colleges in all the states including Hawaii.

College of Micronesia was designated as a land-grant college in early 1980’s along with American Samoa Community College.

When the three nations became independent and the Trust Territory government closed down, COM’s land-grant status was continued by virtue of a language in the three Compacts (for FSM, RMI, and ROP) providing for the continuation of the COM land-grant status.

COM’s land-grant status can only be changed by an Act of the US Congress.

The renegotiated Compacts for the FSM and RMI included the provisions which continued the COM "land-grant status" in these two nations.  The COM land-grant status is authorized in the Palau's Compact until 2009

What type of programs are available thru the land-grant status?

There are three categories of programs:

1. Extension Programs: These are usually short-term training programs on various subject matters: nutrition, youth development, community resources, environment, food production, food preparation/quality/safety, etc.

2. Research programs: These are research on various subjects related to food production, family, basic sciences, etc.

3. Instruction programs: These are the formal teaching which are carried out in classrooms leading to degrees in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, etc.

 

What about the funding for these programs:

Funding is appropriated by the US Congress every year to support land-grant programs. The main sources of the federal funds are:

1. "Smith-Lever Act" funds are to support extension programs;

2. "Hatch Act" funds are to support research programs;

3. "Endowment fund" is to support instruction as well as extension and research programs.

What was COM's allocation of Smith-Lever funds in fy04?

College of Micronesia’s fy04 share based on a formula established by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was: $915,411;

The funding is divided among: CES Director’s Office, the Extension sites in Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Marshall Islands for operation and special projects.

Q: What additional funds are available under Smith-Lever Act?

A: Additional funding are provide for:

Extended Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

Integrated Pest Management

Q. How much was COM’s Hatch funds allocation in fy04?

        A: COM’s fy04 share of the Hatch (research) funds is: $706,513.

        Hatch funding is divided among: AES Director’s office and the three Agricultural Experiment Stations each at PCC,     COM-FSM and CMI.  Hatch funding has been essentially the same for several years and actually be decreased some in recent years.

Q: What is COM Land-Grant Endowment Fund?

A: As part of its designation as a land-grant institution, COM received $3 million in early 1980’s in lieu of a US federal land which the US Federal Government did not have in Micronesia. ($3 million endowment was also granted to Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and the CNMI).

Federal laws specify that only the "interest income" from the Endowment Fund may be used to support programs. The $3 million principle cannot be used for any purpose whatsoever.

In order to manage the fund professionally, COM Board of Regents established the COM Land-Grant Endowment Fund primarily consisting of this fund.  Income from the fund is drawn every year to support instruction, extension and research programs.

Q: What is Plan of Work (POW)?

A: USDA requires all land-grant institutions to submit a Plan of Work (POW) providing detailed description as to the type of programs the land-grant college plans to implement in the upcoming fiscal year.

USDA requires that the federal funding it provides must be spent only on programs as approved by USDA. The POW once approved by USDA provides basis for the funds to be expended accordingly.

The next cycle of the Plan of Work will be 200---  to 200---

Q: What is the funding situation for Fiscal Year 2006?

A.  Funding for Extension (from Smith-Lever) and Research (from Hatch) are expected to continue at the same level or a little bit more.  However, the future of the Hatch funding remains under discussion.

The US Administration had proposed to cut the Hatch fy06 budget by 50% in fy06, then 100% in fy07; and then make all the Hatch funding no longer under formula funds but become competitive.  This, of course, could create a lot of problems not only to COM and the Pacific land-grants but many land-grant institutions throughout the US. 

The US Congress most likely will provide Hatch funding in fy06 similar to the way the Hatch programs has been funded for many years.  However, this does not mean the fy07 will be the same.  There is a strong likelihood that the Administrations' proposal will become a reality in fy08 or sometimes in the near future.  We’ll see.

Q: How is the Trust/Partnership Relation doing?

A: It seems to be working reasonably well except a few problems here and there. During the upcoming meeting, we hope you would be able to discuss the problems of the past and develop recommendations on how to improve the relationship in the future.

If you have other questions you’d like include in this Q & A webpage, let us know by sending an email to ssingeo@mail.fm .  As this is still under construction and still being populated, we hope you'll excuse any errors or mistakes that you may find. Thank you.